Silverthorne hosts one of two Tesla supercharging stations in Colorado

Representatives from California-based Tesla Motors and crews from Mason Wireless Solutions in Denver tested Tuesday Tesla's soon to open Supercharger on a Model S sedan at the Outlets at Silverthorne. At 10 a.m. Thursday Tesla Motors officials will host a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony at the Supercharger site located behind Under Armour.

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Tesla Motors, the California-based maker of the award-winning Model S electric sedan, this week will open its first supercharger stations in Colorado.

The superchargers are located along the Interstate 70 corridor, including at the Outlets at Silverthorne (behind Under Armour) and the Residence Inn in Glenwood Springs. Beginning Thursday both stations will be available for use by Model S drivers.

To celebrate the expansion of its supercharger network, Tesla representatives will host a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Silverthorne location at 10 a.m. Thursday.

Jayne Esser, general manager at the outlets, said Tuesday the partnership with Tesla Motors has been a positive one and she is looking forward to taking advantage of a “captured audience” to encourage Model S owners to shop at local stores or grab a bite while waiting for their cars to recharge.

“Ever since Tesla announced to their owners that there would be a supercharger station at the Outlets at Silverthorne, we’ve been inundated with calls and visits from customers who are excited about this,” Esser said. “We have had so much excitement surrounding the opening of the supercharger station, especially at our Colorado Welcome Center. Customers from Colorado and many other states are calling to tell us they are going to make Silverthorne a planned stop in their travels.”

The opening of Colorado’s first two supercharging stations brings Tesla’s American network total to 26, according to a Tesla Motors news release.

Superchargers provide free charging for Model S drivers and are located along well traveled highways between city centers and popular tourist destinations.

The Silverthorne supercharger will be open 24 hours a day and features eight, 120-kilowatt charging stalls. Superchargers feature more power than Tesla’s stock home charging systems and can replenish half of a charge in 20 minutes, the release stated. The Glenwood Springs supercharger features six 120-kilowatt stalls.

The Model S, which received 2013 “Car of the Year” honors from Motor Trend, boasts a range of 265 miles — the longest of any production electric vehicle in the world, the release stated.

Tesla’s motor produces 443 foot-pounds of instant torque, which can propel the Model S from 0 to 60 mph in as little as 4.2 seconds.

Tesla Motors was founded to accelerate the world’s transition to electric mobility with a full range of increasingly affordable electric cars, the release stated. To date, Tesla has delivered more than 10,000 electric vehicles to customers in 31 countries.